Supplementing with Vitamin D while breastfeeding (prevents infant deficiency) | Biology of Breast Milk
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Vitamin D is crucial for many aspects of infant development. Breast milk contains negligible amounts of vitamin D and is typically considered inadequate to prevent vitamin D deficiency in exclusively breastfed infants. But evidence suggests that supplemental vitamin D in lactating women can increase breast milk concentrations to levels that are adequate to reduce the risk of deficiency in breastfed infants. In this clip, Dr. Rhonda Patrick describes the data suggesting that maternal supplemental vitamin D can reduce the risk of deficiency in breastfed infants.
Breast milk also contains very little vitamin D, certainly not enough to prevent vitamin D deficiency in exclusively breastfed infants. But recent studies have shown that moms who take a daily high dose vitamin D supplement of 6,400 IUs a day can increase the vitamin D concentration of their breast milk to a level that provides sufficient vitamin D intake for their infant.
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